Adjustable cap



April 16, 1935- F. H. CREMEN 1,997,678

ADJUSTABLE GAP Filed May 14, 1954 www ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED" STATES www rAreNr oFFlcE K 1,997,678 VAnJUsflf/ABLE CAP K Frank HQ Cremen, Blackwood, N. J.

Application May v14, 1934-, Serial No. 725,489

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a new and useful adjustable ycap of the type generally worn by cooks, bus-boys, and other uniformed persons, where a capi-or head-covering must be worn while on duty. Caps of this nature are supplied to restaurants, hotels and other establishments by an established commercial service which contracts to supply a certain number of caps at certain intervalapsuch caps being made either of a washable fabric which can be laundered and sized after being soiled or such caps can preferably be made according to the teaching of Reissue Patent No. 17,620 `of March 11, 1930, wherein such caps are madeY of light and inexpensive tissue, such as paper fibre, or the like, which While closely simulating the appearance of conventional starched caps can nevertheless, due to `their extremely low cost, be discarded after they are soiled, thus eliminating the expensegof laundering.

A service supplying caps to institutionsmust necessarily supply cap-s` of different sizes to fit the heads of the various persons` who are to wear such caps. This practice is highly disad- .vantageoua in that it necessitates the sorting of the caps` and their segregation in separate packages for each establishment, and unless such caps are also marked by the names or numbersof the persons who are to wear them or by the size to which they are made it-will necessitate a further sorting of the caps by trial, so that each person can get a capthat will iit his head. The loss of time and eiort involved in this practice is obvious and, due to the fact that while the number of persons employed in an establishment may be the same, the personnel can be changed, thus necessitating a change in the assortment of caps to be delivered at intervals required.

It is, therefore, the object of my invention to produce an inexpensive and adjustable cap made either of washable material Yor of discardable material according to Reissue Patent No. 17,620 whereby caps can be made of a single standard size so that the users thereof can simply and effectively adjust such caps to their own size (thus eliminating the necessityof manufacturing caps in various sizes and the necessity of supplying each establishment with a special, specified set or assortment of sizes.

To the above ends, my invention consists in a cap of the character described wherein the brim or head-piece is made of a relatively large size and wherein the ends or edges of said brim or head-piece are not permanently secured but are, on the contrary, adapted to overlap or telescope, there being means provided for detachably and adjustably fastening the free ends of said headpiece or brim together at the desired point to adjust the diameter or circumference of the headpiece to theV size of the wearer slidably and'wthout any measurement or effort. 5

A further object of my invention is to produce an adjustable cap of this character which is inexpensive to manuiacture'and assemble.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l represents a side elevation of a cap eml bodying my invention shown assembled but before it is folded in position for use.

Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the cap shown in Fig. l assembled and ready for wear.

Fig. 3 represents a section, on an enlarged scale, on line 3'-3 of Fig. 2 showing details of construction.

Fig. 4 represents an enlarged section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing further details of construction.

Fig. 5 represents a fragmentary perspective -view looking inside'the cap near the junction of the free ends of the head-piece.

. Fig. 6 represents a view similar to Fig. l showing a modied form of construction.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the modified form shown in Fig. 6 when it is folded ready for wear.

Fig; 8 is a section, on a reduced scale, on line 8-8 of Fig. '7. Y

Referring to Fig. l, I have shown' a cap embodying my invention in the completely assembled condition but not folded or arranged for wearing and this cap comprises a head-piece or brim l which is composed of an outer sheet 2 calculated to simulate the appearance of laundered and sized fabric and an inner sheet 3 which is preferably of a highly absorbent character to absorb the perspiration from the brow, the inner and outer sheets or layers 3 and 2 being `of an eX- tremely light and inexpensive material so that they may be discarded after use instead of being laundered. At the upper edge of the inner and outer sheets 3 and 2 I may employ a decorative band Il which is not only ornamental but also serves to bind and reinforce the upper edges of the members 2 and 3. To the lower periphery of the members 2 and 3 is stitched, or otherwise secured, as at 5 the muslin crown 6 which may be of any desired size or contour but which for 50 purposes of lightness and ventilation is made of an extremely light, open-work fabric. The free ends l and 3 of the head-piece or brim formed of the members 2 and 3 preferably overlap, as shown in Fig. l, and in lieu of being permanently 55 stitched in this position, as has heretofore been the practice, I overlap or telescope said ends I and 8 with respect to each other and secure them together in a detachable manner by means of any desired clip I0. In order to permit the insertion of the detachable clip IIJ and in order to give the head-piece or brim I a range of adjustment, the crown 6 is not stitched to the lower periphery of the brim I at a point II in proximity to the overlapping of the ends I and 8. The brim I is creased as at I2 so that the portion thereof intervening between the crease I2 and the bottom edge of the brim I may be folded inwardly along the crease I2, as shown at I3 in Fig. 3, when the cap is being prepared for wearing. This results in projecting the crown 6 upwardly, and the inwardly and upwardly bent portion I3 of the brim forms a kind of head band for engaging the head. The cap now assumes the position shown in Fig. 2. The person intending to use the cap shown in Fig. 2 can adjust such cap to the exact size of the head by merely sliding the free ends l and 8 of the brim I over each other, and the fastening clip II! can be moved back and forth in the area I I in which the crown 6 is not stitched to the bottom edge of the brim, as best seen in Fig. 4. As will be seen in Fig. 5, the crown 6 is also not stitched to the bottom edge of the brim I at the junction of the ends 'I and 8, as shown at I4, in order to permit the relative telescoping or overlapping movement of the ends 'I and 8 with respect to each other without distorting the crown 6. The crown 6 is preferably cut from a single piece, the ends of which are stitched together as at I5.

In Figs. 6 to 8 I have shown the idea of adjustability applied to the structure of the cap disclosed in Reissue Patent No. 17,620 of March 11, 1930, in which the brim I, composed of the outer and inner members 2 `and 3, is provided with an upper crease I8 and a lower crease II so that there is an upper inwardly and downwardly folded portion I8 and a lower inwardly and upwardly folded portion I8, the crown 6 being stitched to the bottom edge of the brim I, as at 20, so that when the lower inwardly and upwardly folded portion I9 is in the position shown in Fig. 7 the crown projects upwardly and the cap is ready for Wear. According to the prior Reissue Patent No. 17,620, the free ends of the brim I were permanently stitched together and the cap disclosed in said patent was therefore not adjustable. In order to render this cap adjustable, I use a detachable clip 2| for engaging and binding together the edges of the upper inwardly and downwardly folded portion I8 and I similarly employ another detachable clip 22 for engaging and binding the edges of the lower inwardly and upwardly folded portion I9. In this construction also the crown 6 is not stitched to the lower edge of the brim for a certain area as at II to permit the adjustment of the overlapping ends of the brim I and the movement of the lower clip 22 accordingly. In this construction the cap is merely adjusted by predetermining the extent of overlapping of the free ends of the brim and then applying the clips 2I and 22 in the desired position. The material from which this cap is constructed is also of a very light and inexpensive nature, the inner layer 3 being preferably absorbent and the outer layer 2 preferably simulating the appearance of a laundered and sized fabric.

It will thus be seen that by my invention I eliminate the necessity of making these caps in different sizes and the necessity of delivering these caps to the various establishments where they are used in any special assortment of sizes, since a standard size with suflicient range of adjustment which can be determined by the extent of area- II, in which the crown is not stitched to the lower edge of the brim, can be made and delivered in the number desired to the users, `f

each of whom can take any cap at random and vadjust it to the size of his own head. The sheets 2 and 3 constituting the brim I may, if desired, be cemented together along their entire contacting surfaces by means of any desired adhesive.

I claim:

A cap of the character stated, comprising a discontinuous, substantially circular and relatively stiff brim having freely telescoping ends, a crown of loosely Woven fabric attached to said brim and adapted to project upwardly therethrough, the edge of said crown being free of the contiguous edge ofsaid brim at the junction of the free ends of said brim to permit adjustment of said brim to the head of the wearer, and

the edge of said crown being also free from the edge'of said brim for a predetermined distance adjacent to the junction of the free ends of said brim to permit the application of' a detachable clip for securing the free ends of said brim to- 'f.

gether in the adjusted position.

FRANK H. CREMEN. 

